Disclaimer: Subject matter may not be suitable for all audiences. If you see me in a certain light (professional, or otherwise) that you are not willing to have slightly altered, skip this post… LOL… Or don’t think of it like it’s me, think of it like you’re reading a funny book or something…
To shave, or not to shave… That is the question…
Soooooo…. I’ve been having this internal argument with myself… I’m going on day 12 here in India and am in desperate need of a shave! I’ve talked to the other girls about it, and they aren’t worried about shaving at all… Although, the other girls are full on, 100% free spirits, whereas I am, part free spirit, part practical paranoid…. Yes, I’m like 70% free spirit, 30% practical… Ok, ok, maybe it’s more like 60/40…. Oh, who are you kidding Eryn, you’re 50/50 at best…
I said to Sigrid (Siggy), “But the water is no good, right? So, if I were to cut myself, I would certainly catch something, right?” What is it you’re actually worried about in that water anyway? Bacteria? Viruses? Parasites? Or, the dreaded answer, all of the above? Hmmm…
Siggy says in her Aussie accent, “Oh, don’t worry about it, it’s fine! Plus the likelihood that you’d cut yourself is so small.” Then she says, “No, no, just say screw it and embrace the hairiness! Yeah, just go with it, be free.”
But I can’t stand it anymore! I broke down almost right away when I got here and dry shaved my pits… No worries there… But that just doesn’t work for my legs… and my – ummm lower region… And I don’t think I can wait until I move on to a non third world country with clean water… But I can hardly stand my legs anymore and I don’t really want to rock the 1970’s playboy bush, you know?
This whole dilemma has me questioning the vanity aspect of the entire shaving routine and where this silly tradition came from anyway… I mean, shaving is a total pain in the ass… I don’t know one woman who likes shaving… And, didn’t God create us with hair for a reason? There has to be a good explanation for that! For example, our eyelashes are meant to keep debris out of our eyes, yes? Same with nose hairs – they are a filter to keep diseased particles, etc. out of our respiratory system, yes? I mean, what if exposing our pores like that is allowing toxins to enter our body at an accelerated rate and it inadvertently causes cancer or some other crazy disease/affliction? NBC World News Tonight reports that shaving legs is now proven to cause cancer… Rejoice, rejoice, no more shaving!!!! Ummm doubtful, Eryn…
Hmmm what to do, what to do… Should I go with American tradition and risk bacterial infection? Or embrace the hippy culture that is all around me and let it be? Let it be, let it be, let it beee, ohhh let it be… Beatles song plays in my mind… For now, I will continue the argument with myself… I’m sure you’ll be sitting on the edge of your seat with anticipation of the outcome…. NOT…
P.S. I’m going on my second shower with cold water now… Grrr… Not sure what’s changed from last week to this week, but I am missing my hot water! As I put on my, only for the shower-flip flops, I cringe to step into the cold water and wonder if one of the hepatitises is crawling around on my bathroom floor… (Don’t worry, I’m vaccinated) Ahhh, the challenges of third world living continues…
Stay tuned to, As the World Turns in India, for the answer to this, and many more of your burning questions about my travel experiences…. LOL
The Critical Path 
Eryn you can always use lotion to shave, and not have to be in the shower with the cold water. I feel your pain. Be free! Hope you are having fun!
OMG Girl shave you nasty hairy buzzard 🙂 Where there is a will there’s a way .. Love ya send more pictures.
Shaving and/or bathing in cold water is always a challenge and never fun. If you’re still living at the ashram, one solution might to ask someone in the kitchen to boil some water (as if for making tea but in somewhat larger quantities) and use it for your business. Another solution is to ask a local where you can get your hair cut or trimmed and see if they’ll do the job(s) that need to be done. A third solution might be finding a Lister bag (a bag filled with water that, when warmed in the sun, produces tepid water which could be used for your purposes) or asking a local pharmacist or equivalent for water treatment tablets and boil your own water. Or, you can put up with the inconvenience like many women do.
What are your current travel plans? Franny and I love and miss you. GOD bless … Charley
I did get your detailed email with the travel info… thank you.. formulating next location now… xoxo missyou guys…
I read a really great book by Barbara Kingsolver called “Prodigal Summer.” It’s fictional, but Kingsolver is a biologist and her main character is a forest ranger, living in the woods, not shaving. She spends a good deal of space talking about the reason for hair, it’s part in our attractiveness toward one another, etc. If you can get your hands on it, you should definitely read. She’s a wonderful writer.
Interesting… thank for the book info, I’ll try to check it out…
Shave – you will never have a situation where you will regret it 😉
Or conditioner. Or oil. Any lubricant, really. Note to self: before traveling to India or other less-developed locale, have laser hair removal. PS, a friend’s mother ended up with flesh eating bacteria and lost her arm and other hand after a paper cut in Utah. Germs are everywhere. And people in Georgia and Florida got parasites swimming in lakes there that killed them.
Embrace the hairy-ness after all you’re supposed to be doing stuff outside of your comfort zone, no? How about going for a full beard? Not only will you look really spiritual and yogi-like but I think you can rock that look! 🙂 What do Indian ladies do?
Interesting topic. No doubt about it shave with lotion at least underarms. Here is my question, how many people who are around you use deodorant? Traveling in Europe in the summer can be a bit “overwhelming”….it’s probably not a topic you should spend much time thinking about. You are having too many other wonderful experiences, spend your energy on those. But, you know how my little brain works. Xoxo.
I think the ‘Europeans don’t use deodorant’ thing is a myth. Most Europeans I know are pleasantly fragrant and if they’re from Italy or Spain usually very stylish too. xxx
Yes, Embrace it.
OK. Thanks for the TMI warning, which I promptly ignored. But here’s the real question: who’s gonna know whether you shaved or not?
Shave that thing
We’ll at least it’s nice to say that if you shave at this point, it is completely for yourself and not for anyone else! 😉 I say rock the bush, babe… And as for the legs? A nice long skirt or yoga pant will do the trick! Seriously, if you have gotten this far in life and not let yourself slip on a shaving habit for a month or 5, I’d say you have some catching up to do… Love you!
Why do my comments not show up gggrrrr
Sorry I have to approve them and I can’t figure out a setting where they post automatically, so it takes me some time to get back to the wifi cafe to approve everyone’s comments… xo